NEWSLETTER No



NEWSLETTER No. 57

October 2009

|IBBY SA Box 847 Howard Place 7450 South Africa |

|email info@.za |

|Books for Africa newsletter email booksforafrica@ |

|website .za |

← IBBY SA is the South African section of IBBY.

← IBBY is the International Board on Books for Young People.

← IBBY SA’s area of interest is everything to do with South African books for children and young people.

← If you are a member of IBBY SA, you are also a member of IBBY.

← IBBY’s 2004 World Congress was hosted by IBBY SA in Cape Town.

← The 2010 World Congress will be in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Hartlik welkom! Geniet die nuusbrokkies en die artikels wat volg.

O amohelehile! Re tshepa hore o tla thabela ho bala pampitshana ena e fupereng tse thahasellisang le tse susumetsang.

Index: Exclusive Books IBBY SA Shortlist! By Royal Command A Gold Gong for Niki!

Jay Heale on fine music radio Honour List books for 2010 Summer BookBash

QuickQuiz Competition SCBWI Events End

Exclusive Books IBBY SA shortlist!

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We can announce the shortlist for the 2009 Exclusive Books IBBY SA Award.

This Award is given every second year, and is awarded to the best children’s picture book or illustrated children’s story book or illustrated book of poems for children. The selection of the winner is the responsibility of IBBY SA, while the Award is sponsored by Exclusive Books. The Award is an amount of R5000.00 for the writer and R5000.00 for the illustrator.

The following four books have been shortlisted, mentioned alphabetically by title:

▪ Elsa and the little Thingamajig by Niki Daly, illustrated by Joan Rankin (Pan Macmillan)

▪ Happy birthday, Jamela! story and picture by Niki Daly (Tafelberg)

▪ Liewe land, ’n Olifant! deur Jaco Jacobs, ill. Maja Sereda (LAPA)

▪ Siyolo’s Jersey by Mari Grobler, illustrated by Elizabeth Pulles (Tafelberg)

The winner will be announced at a function to be held at the Vineyard Hotel on Monday 23 November 2009. Attendance is by invitation.

By Royal Command

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Members of IBBY SA must be increasingly aware that one of our benefactors is Mr Hideo Yamada of Japan. How did he become interested in South Africa? Well, that’s an intriguing story.

2003 was the year we earmarked for international publicity, spreading the word that the IBBY Congress 2004 was going to be in Cape Town. In November I managed to arrange a free trip to Japan, courtesy of the Japanese Foundation, by agreeing to present talks and storytellings at schools while I was there. That filled an exhausting week, during which I visited the beautiful and historic harbour town of Nagasaki. I returned to Tokyo to take part in a symposium with Aidan Chambers (recent Andersen Award winner) and Leena Maissen (retired Executive Director of IBBY) which was attended by Her Majesty Empress Michiko.

My visit would end with a social evening presented by Japanese IBBY at which our promotional video of the 2004 Congress would be shown. This included our plea for donations to provide books for underprivileged schools. JBBY then received a message from the imperial palace: Her Majesty had allocated half-an-hour to attending our meeting. She would like to spend twenty minutes meeting people and in the other ten minutes, ‘Would Mr Heale, the storyteller, please tell a story?’ So I did – helped by a translator – telling the conclusion of Christopher Gregorowski’s Fly, Eagle, Fly! and handing Empress Michiko a copy of the new Tafelberg edition with Niki Daly’s colour illustrations.

During that evening, I was approached by a dapper, dark-haired man who spoke no English. We bowed and shook hands – and probably exchanged business cards. He was Mr Yamada, director of the Yamada Apiculture Center. His translator said, ‘Mr Yamada understands that you need money to help schools in South Africa.

How much do you need?’ That was unanswerable. I stammered something about South Africa being a very large place. Not acceptable. ‘Mr Yamada says that you have a price for each school library you wish to give. How many libraries?’ I took a deep breath, let my imagination run riot and said, ‘A hundred.’ This was duly translated. Mr Yamada bowed again and withdrew.

After my return to South Africa, we had a message via JBBY that Mr Yamada had agreed to our request. We panicked! Jean Williams said we couldn’t cope with the allocation of a hundred schools, not just like that. So we told Mr Yamada that we could only handle fifty gift libraries during that year. His answer was, diplomatically, that he agreed – and would provide the other fifty libraries the year after.

So his generous donations to IBBY SA started, and have continued. But I know that it all began on the evening of my first-ever and only Royal Command Performance.

– Jay Heale

A Gold Gong for Niki!

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[pic]

Seen at the ceremony awarding Niki Daly a Molteno Medal in Gold for his service to literature were (fr. l. to r.) Paddy Bouma, Jude Daly, Niki Daly, Robin Malan

Niki Daly was awarded a Molteno Medal in Gold by the Cape 300 Foundation for his services to literature at an event hosted by the Cape 300 Foundation in the Old Town House in Greenmarket Street.

Member of the Cape 300 Foundation Council and also IBBY SA Chairperson, Robin Malan read the citation for Niki Daly’s award.

This is what he said:

For the last ten years, Britain has had a Children’s Laureate, and for only one year now, the US has had a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. If South Africa had such a doyen of children’s book writers and illustrators, there’s no doubt that Niki Daly would be it. Certainly, Niki Daly was the first South African children’s book illustrator to be nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Not that any of those ‘fancy’, ‘posh’ words – ‘laureate’, ‘ambassador’, ‘doyen’ – have anything much to do with the working-class boy from Observatory, who grew up in Observatory, went to Obs Junior School and then Obs High School, and who still lives and works in Mowbray-Obs, as he has done for most of his life.

Niki tells of his childhood in the suburb: the little boy sitting on the kerb of the pavement, dreaming dreams. And he reckons that’s pretty much what he’s still doing, though he may have migrated, somewhat reluctantly, from the pavement to his desk and drawing-board.

After matriculating, he attended the Cape Technikon where he obtained a Diploma in Art and Design. In 1970 he went to England, worked as a graphic designer/

illustrator, and taught at the East Ham College of Technology. In 1980 he returned to South Africa, where he has worked as a teacher and freelance illustrator, and headed the Graphic Design Department of Stellenbosch University until 1989. Then, for some years he developed Songololo Books, a children’s book division for David Philip Publishers.

Niki is internationally known as a children’s book writer and illustrator. Sometimes he illustrates books that other people have written; on occasion he writes and someone else illustrates his books; but most times he does both: he writes and illustrates.

One of the things that Niki will be remembered for is that he introduced the urban working-class black child as authentic hero in South African children’s literature.

One of Niki’s early successes – and probably still my favourite among his picture books – is Not So Fast, Songololo, in which the hero is a small township boy

whose Gogo takes him to town and buys new tackies.

And, in recent years, readers the world over have grown to know and love Jamela (‘wearing funky trousers and sporty red shoes … beaded braids … a really cool kid’) in a series of books: Jamela’s Dress, Where’s Jamela?, Yebo Jamela, Jamela’s Birthday …

Niki always makes sure that his new books are published or co-published in South Africa, but now he is regularly published in London, in New York, in Copenhagen, in Paris, in Brazil, in Spain, in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and in Korea. So, as a writer and illustrator of children’s books, he is clearly an internationalist. Yet, in his heart and his head, he and his work remain quintessentially South Africa, and Cape, and Cape Town.

Niki Daly is a worthy recipient of the Molteno Medal in Gold.

Jay Heale on Fine Music Radio

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FMR September 2009:

I have been telling you a lot about books and not enough about what’s been happening in our world of children’s literature. Conveniently, there have been three anniversaries to celebrate.

IBBY South Africa is celebrating its twenty-first year, IBBY standing for the International Board on Books for Young People. We didn’t start with that name, because those were the dark years when South Africa was not welcomed into international cultural circles. Perhaps you remember? So it was as the South African Children’s Book Forum that we hosted the IBBY Congress in Cape Town in 2004. Perhaps that one you do remember?

As part of that Congress we launched a fund-raising project to donate books to schools that had none. And we were very pleased to hit a total of 25 school donations that year. However, during this last year, IBBY SA has donated (with the help of Biblionef) book gifts to 41 schools. That’s pretty impressive.

We can go on celebrating Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday for as long as we like – and what better way than with Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales, an audiobook from Hachette, ‘benefiting children in South Africa orphaned and impacted by HIV/AIDS’.

First published in book form in South Africa (by Tafelberg) as Madiba Magic, this audiobook has ‘unabridged material’ on 3 CDs. Perhaps I can tell you that the story in this collection that I wrote (more than 21 years ago!) has been dramatically voiced by Alan Rickman, better known for his sinister appearances in the Harry Potter films. To my delight it features as the first story, straight after music composed by Johnny Clegg and Vusi Mahlasela, and a special message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. After that, you’ve got stories read by Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Matt Damon – all giving their services for free.

Finally, let me ask you: What do you think about our Parliament? Well, hurrying on, before you have time to answer, let me tell you about a parliamentary project three years ago that sent author Lesley Beake off to visit 26 schools in all 9 provinces of South Africa, encouraging and helping to create My Story, Our Stories, stories by the children of South Africa, compiled by Lesley Beake

(published by the Parliamentary Millennium Programme). Lesley – who has a significant birthday of her own as well – conducted workshops in primary schools as far apart as the Kgalagadi National Park near the Botswana border, Thulamela near the Limpopo River, and the fishing village of Arniston not far from Cape Agulhas. Here are thoughts from San children from !Khwa ttu, refugee children from Rwanda, severely handicapped children from Chatsworth.

Each story (first published in the Sunday Times ReadRight section) is a genuine, polished bead in an African necklace of storytelling. Almost amazingly, it was inspired by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. I don’t know whether My Story, Our Stories is available in the shops; I just feel that you ought to know about it; because exciting things keep happening in the world of South African children’s literature.

– Jay Heale

Honour List of Books for 2010

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To explain the Honour List:

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) holds a World Congress every second year. In the year prior to a World Congress, IBBY invites national sections to name books in three categories: Author, Translator, and Illustrator. If there are children’s and young people’s books in substantial numbers in more than one language, the country may submit in the different languages. These books are recognised as those that have made ‘a special contribution to the recent literature for children and young people’ in that country.

At the Congress in the succeeding year, IBBY presents the books that each national section of IBBY has named. These are the Honour List of Books.

▪ A brochure is produced featuring the cover of each book, a short evaluation, and biographical notes on the authors, translators and illustrators.

▪ Someone from IBBY leads the Congress through a PowerPoint presentation on the Honour List in a separate plenary session of the full Congress.

▪ The books are displayed at the Congress.

▪ The nominated authors, illustrators, translators and their publishers from each national section receive certificates noting their recognition on the Honour List.

▪ If the recipients are able to attend the Congress, they are presented with their certificates in person in the plenary session.

So, it’s pretty high-powered in terms of international exposure. It frequently happens that Honour List books are picked up by international publishers; illustrators are noted; writers are offered translations into other languages; translators are offered contracts by foreign-language publishers.

The South African process: IBBY SA asks publishers and anybody else to submit books for adjudication. A jury of professionals, chaired by Lona Gericke (Children’s Librarian at the Bellville Public Library, former member of the Hans Andersen Award Jury, and Vice

Chairperson of IBBY SA), looks at the submissions and makes its decisions.

The IBBY SA Honour List is announced at a public event and certificates are handed over. So …

Spring BookBash

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Invitation

You are invited to IBBY SA’s Spring BookBash.

On the Agenda …

1

The announcement of the IBBY SA Honour List books

for the 2010 IBBY World Congress.

Certificates will be handed over.

Lona Gericke will officiate.

2

‘Does Africa have any Myths and Folk Tales?’

Some thoughts, with contributions by

Jay Heale, Xolisa Guzula and Ntombizanele Mahobe

Time:

5.30 for 6 p.m.

Date:

Thursday 19 November 2009

Venue:

Centre for the Book,

Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town (parking behind the building)

RSVP to

Yvette Couperthwaite at

info@.za or 083 740 3580

before Wednesday 18 November.

QuickQuiz Competition

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There were no entries for the October QuickQuiz. We asked you to remind us of the year and the venue of the next TWO IBBY World Congresses. In which years and in which cities/towns/places are the next TWO Congresses planned to occur? The answer to the first question appears in our masthead at the top of this newsletter:

← The 2010 World Congress will be in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

← The 2012 World Congress will be in London.

So, an easy two-part question this time. Staying with IBBY World Congresses … In what year did the IBBY World Congress take place in Cape Town, and what was the venue?

Remember to include your postal address in case you win!

SCBWI Event

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Upcoming SCBWI (SA) events for Gauteng

Our next really BIG event!

Exhibition

 by Illustrators and Writers of Children’s Books

 

13-27 November

Venue: Alliance Francaise

19 Rivier St (cnr de Kock), Sunnyside, Pretoria

Daily visiting hours: 13-27 November 2009 - 08:30 - 19:30 (Mon - Thurs);

08:30 - 13:00 (Fri); 09:00 - 12:30 (Sat)

 

Exhibitors:

Kalle Becker, Maryanne and Shayle Bester, Paddy Bouma, Je’Anna Clements, Hazel Cuthbertson, Carol Davies, Yvette de Beer, Julia du Plessis, Wendy Hartman, Jenny Hatton, Jenn Hurlin, Derrick Hurlin, Themba Mabaso, Rob Owen, Louise Prinsloo, Marelise Prinsloo, Elizabeth Pulles, Joan Rankin, Maja Sereda, Nalini Pillay, Chantelle Thorne, Rozenn Torquebiau, Marjorie van Heerden, Samantha van Riet, Adelle van Zyl, Marlene (Paddy) Visser

 

Enquiries please e-mail SCBWI.Gauteng@mweb.co.za

 

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Text: Robin Malan

Layout & Design: Inge Paulsen

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